The first time I made this recipe I was attempting to mimic the Hidden Valley ranch seasoning pack that you can find in the stores. Initially I made it heavier in garlic, salt, and herbs with a heavy dose of hot sauce. It was good, but I decided to make it a more universal soup by reducing the salt content, lowering the spice and focusing more on the dumplings.
This is a well rounded cream of chicken soup, just heavier on some of the seasoning, and finished with sour cream for a light tang. The flavor of this soup comes from a couple of the steps, but the longer you marinate the chicken, the stronger the flavor becomes. I have an number of fresh herbs that I grow, so I use them in most recipes. This recipe calls for a number of fresh herbs, but you can change the variety that you use, based upon what you have on hand (if you don't feel like buying 5 different types of fresh herbs).
I have already posted the dumping recipe, so this will be a two part soup recipe, with the marinade as well as the soup itself. If you don't feel like making the dumplings you can always put pasta or rice in there, or even just eat it as is, because it can also stand on it's own.
Ingredients
Marinade Ingredients
Buttermilk 1 cup
Thyme, roughly chopped 1 T
Chives, roughly chopped 1 T
Parsley, roughly chopped 1 T
Oregano, roughly chopped 1 T
Basil, roughly chopped 1 T
Crushed Red Pepper 1 tsp
Mustard Powder 1 T
Garlic Powder 1 T
Avenue Spice 1 T
Celery Salt 1 tsp
Dill Weed 1 T
Worcestershire 2 tsp
Chicken Breasts 1-2 lb
Chicken Thighs, boneless skinless 1-2 lb
Method of Procedure
Mix all ingredients together and marinate chicken for 48 hours. You want a total of around 3 lbs of chicken.
Soup Ingredients
Garlic Oil 1/2 cup
Butter 4 oz
Flour 1 cup
Onion, diced 2 ea
Celery, sliced 1 bunch
Carrots, baby peeled sliced around 20 (can sub 4 large diced)
Heavy Cream 2 cups
Buttermilk 2 cups
Chicken Stock 2 quarts
Mustard Powder 1 T
Bay Leaves 3 ea
Crushed Red Pepper 1 tsp
Dill Weed, dry 1 T
Garlic Powder 1 tsp
Salt and Pepper to taste
Rosemary, finely chopped 1 T
Thyme, finely chopped 1 T
Sage, finely chopped 1 T
Oregano, finely chopped 1 T
Tarragon, finely chopped 1 T
Chives, finely chopped 1 T
Parsley, finely chopped 1 T
Bring chicken stock, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper to a boil. Place marinated chicken into stock and reduce to a simmer for around 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken and cool, strain stock and reserve.
Place garlic oil and butter into soup pot and melt. Add flour and make a light brown roux by stirring constantly for around 20 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and onions and cook while stirring for around 20 minutes.
Add chicken stock and bring to a slight roll. Reduce heat to simmer and add buttermilk and heavy cream.
Dice cooled chicken and add to soup. Add dill weed, garlic powder, and your hard herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano). Simmer for 2 hours.
Add your soft herbs (parsley, chives, tarragon) and season to taste.
To serve put cooked dumplings into soup and heat to order.
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